American speaker ‘Wild Bill’ arrested, detained by Canadian officers for allegedly smuggling ‘hate speech’ on iPad

On Saturday, American vlogger, speaker and author William Finlay, known as “Wild Bill for America,” was arrested and detained when he attempted to enter Canada for allegedly smuggling “hate speech” on his iPad. According to a post at Medium.com, Finlay had been invited to speak at an event at Calgary’s Olympic Plaza called the “Patriotic Unity Mega Festival” coordinated by Canada’s Worldwide Coalition Against Islam (WCAI) which also has organizations in Europe and Australia.

His speech, he explains, was about the impact of Sharia law on women and children, and about freedom of speech. But, he said, Canadian authorities decided that his speech notes, which were on his iPad and intended only to be seen by him, constituted the transport, or smuggling of “hate speech.”

“If events actually unfolded as he explains in his personal, recorded testimony below, then this is a horrifying and highly alarming story that bears enormous implications for free speech and free society in Canada,” said a post at Jihad Watch.

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A special event permit for the event was denied by Calgary’s Department of Canadian Recreation, according to an article by CBC News, “on the basis that your organization, and messages it espouses, are hateful.” But event spokesman, Jeremy Phillips, responded on FaceBook “We are going to march downtown and show the biased city officials that we will not be silenced. It’s all about standing up for our rights and freedoms. We are not interested in a violent confrontation or anything like that. It’s all about having a peaceful protest.”

News of William Finlay’s arrest was relayed to friends via text message, including Joe Dan Gorman of the Intellectual Froglegs show. The text read “Was arrested at the airport for ‘smuggling hate speech’ on my iPad. Don’t know how this is going to turn out… really appreciate prayers and support of my friends.”

Finlay served as a Navy Corpsman with the Marines before becoming a career law enforcement officer, serving as both a Deputy U.S. Marshal and Deputy Sheriff. A public speaker, frequest guest on radio talk shows, YouTuber and blogger, Finlay says his “mission in life is to encourage and strengthen America’s faith in God and Country. It is not politicians, but individual Americans with the courage to speak out who will keep freedom alive in the USA.”

Finlay told Tepes he believes the incident was a “fishing expedition” by Canadian authorities for the purpose of intimidating him and to use him as an example for those concerned about free speech and the Islamization of Canada.

“This is far from over,” he told Tepes, adding that he has received an outpouring of support from Canadians.

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